Weighing the Pros and Cons for 2 Escaped Convicts to Remain Partners in Crime

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Maj. Charles E. Guess of the New York State Police discussed reports of a missing shotgun on Wednesday, saying there is no “confirmatory evidence,” as the manhunt expands for the two missing convicts.Published OnJune 24, 2015CreditCreditScott Olson/Getty Images

The tactic served them well during the escape itself, but now it raises a question: Does staying together make them more prone to capture? Hundreds of officers and countless citizens are looking for the two men. When do two men become one too many?

“We plan and we have been investigating since Day 1 for both possibilities,” Maj. Charles E. Guess of the New York State Police said at a news conference on Wednesday. “Working together as a team has certain pluses. Separating also has certain advantages when you are trying to elude capture.”

Law enforcement officials well versed in prison breaks and manhunts considered the pros and cons of two escapees sticking together on the run.

“It’s harder to hide two people,” said Sheriff Timothy Whitcomb of Cattaraugus County, N.Y., whose office has participated in past manhunts. “It’s harder to conceal two people. It’s harder to feed two people.”

The most widely known fact about the escapees, Sheriff Joseph A. Gerace of Chautauqua County said, is that there are two of them.

“People are thinking, ‘Two,’ ” he said. “It’s easier to avoid detection when you’re by yourself. You cover more ground.”

William Dotson of Virginia, who teaches courses in human tracking for law enforcement personnel, said two men traveling together tend to stick out. “Ladies go to the bathroom together,” he said. “Men don’t.”

But there are advantages, beginning with the ability to sleep in shifts.

“There’s the old adage that there’s strength in numbers,” said John F. Clark, a retired chief inspector with the United States Marshals Service. “They can watch each other’s backs. If they decide they want to do a robbery, a carjacking, whatever that may be to further their flight, two of them are stronger, more intimidating, than just one.”

They can also be partners in deception. Two men can set traps together that a single one could not. For example, one may fake an injury on a roadside while the other lies in wait to ambush a good Samaritan.

Mr. Dotson said the moral support to “stay the course” could keep the men running longer than if each was alone.

Prison-escape partnerships, a movie staple predating the 1958 film “The Defiant Ones,” are not uncommon. Mr. Clark worked on the manhunt for the so-called Texas Seven, inmates who escaped from a prison in 2000 after overpowering 14 prison employees. They stayed out for five weeks — together.

“They had become, at least in their own minds, a quasi-paramilitary unit,” Mr. Clark said. “They had a command structure, different skill sets. In their own minds, they were ‘The A-Team.’ ”

A more selfish approach to teamwork emerged in another Texas prison break. John Moriarty, a retired inspector general for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, recalled an escape by three inmates. One of them, in top physical condition, had done all the work and planning, and invited the other two along at the last moment. “Two guys who are totally out of shape,” Mr. Moriarty said. “He outruns them. They’re dog bait.”

Mr. Matt and Mr. Sweat may have something else in common that is keeping them together: mutual distrust. To amend the saying about keeping friends close and enemies closer, it is perhaps wise to keep a fellow fugitive closest of all, lest he become careless.

“They go out and get drunk, they get high, they’re looking for companionship,” Mr. Clark said. “That’s when one gets grabbed,” and leads the police to the other.

Mr. Dotson speculated that the men might be quicker to discard caution while they are together. “They could egg each other on to take risks they may not take by themselves,” he said. “Think about a couple of teenage boys hanging out. One of them dares the other one.”

Whatever their relationship, it is very likely under tremendous stress.

“They’re going to get on each other’s nerves,” Mr. Clark said. “These are not a couple of nice guys. These are alpha-male sociopaths.” He added, “I’m sure there are some heated discussions around the campfire at night.”

He thought of those most famous of outlaws on the run, and predicted that there was little they had in common with Mr. Matt and Mr. Sweat.

“They probably want to be rid of one another and go off wherever and live happily ever after,” he said. “They’re not Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and they’re not going to head for Bolivia.”

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A20 of the New York edition with the headline: Escapees May Find Strength in Numbers, or That Two Can Be One Too Many . Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe